Tag Archives: Places to eat

Black Cypress is Pullman’s newest restaurant, and it makes a lovely night out without the wee ones. Get a sitter and have a date!

Black Cypress Interior

I have been here a few times – three times for drinks and once for a full dinner. I have had a great experience each time.

The Bar at Black Cypress

First the bar: It seats about eight to ten people and has a very cozy feel. The bartenders have been perfect – attentive but not overly chatty. This places gets a tad noisy, so sitting at the bar works best if you either go early or just plan to talk to the person next to you. I went for drinks and light appetizers with a group of ladies and they let us sit at a table. The selection of wines was fine, and the prices were generally moderate. (I think about $7-10 per glass.) There is a beer selection, too, but I did not pay much attention!

The Decor: The “theme” of the decor is antique mirrors. With the candles on the tables reflecting off the mirrors, it creates a very nice atmosphere. The ceiling is draped with lengths of a rough material (burlap?) which gives it a pretty, tent-like feel. (Note these photos were taken during the day, through the window. At night is has a more romantic feeling.)

The food: The menu is small but the food is excellent. The menu has a Mediterranean influence (as you would expect from the name) but this is by no means a “Mediterranean” restaurant.

The Special Board

Black Cypress seems to really excel at the meat dishes. I had the lamb chops (so good, and actually cooked the way I ordered, which is a rarity). My dining companions gave rave reviews to the beef, the pork chops, and the scallops. I have had the beet salad and the cheese plate, which were both good (though perhaps not the best versions of these dishes I had ever had). For dessert, the apple spice cake and the smores both got high marks. In fact, no one had a bad thing to say about the food.

The cost is on the high side for Pullman, but it is not out of line with what you would pay at a similar restaurant in a bigger city. Dinner for five (three salads, five entrees, two desserts, and two bottles of the cheaper wine) came to around $50 per person.

The service has always been very good, also. I am not sure who does the hiring, but it seems like the wait staff is made up mostly of very good-looking twenty-something guys, who also happen to be professional and attentive. This does not hurt the overall experience!

The hours are as shown above. The address and phone:

215 East Main Street
Pullman, WA 99163-2769
(509) 334-5800

It is located next to Prune Orchard, which is open until 6, giving you one hour of overlap to do a combined shopping and wine drinking excursion!

Cougar Cheese is made at WSU and is surprisingly good (I am surprised mainly because it comes in a can, which is not usually the mark of a fine cheese – but really, it is excellent). You can buy cans around town, but I think Ferdinand’s is the only place you can buy the smaller portions, the curd, and the cooking cheese. This is good because the cans have 2 pounds of cheese – which is a LOT of cheese!

Cougar gold cheese and curds

The Cheese Cooler

You can also buy WSU Honey, and Cougar Gold nachos.

WSU-Produced Honey

Cougar Gold Nachos!

After you have your ice cream, go up to the Observation Room where you can see the cheese and ice cream being made.

Observing

The WSU Creamery offers educational tours, and a cheesemaking shortcourse.

Door to the Observation Room

Ferdinand’s is located in the Food Quality Building on the WSU Campus, 2 blocks east of the New Biotech/Life Sciences building. It is across from the Indoor Practice Facility.

It has a bathroom with changing table, a highchair, and a water fountain. It also has an outdoor seating area.

Park at the parking meters. Do not park on the street unless you want a ticket (trust me on this one!)

On the wall is the illustrated story of Ferdinand the Bull:

Part of the story of Ferdinand

The website gives this version of how Ferdinand’s was named: “The most popular story is that in 1938, the Washington State College Dairy Products Judging Team was trying to earn money for competitions. There was a student on that team, Rune Goranson, whose middle name happened to be Ferdinand. Also in 1938, the Disney short film “Ferdinand the Bull” was released. All this was too much to ignore and the judging team sold ice cream sundaes to raise funds and named their sales booth “Ferdinand’s”. Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe opened its doors on September 24, 1948 in Troy Hall and remained there until 1992, before moving to its current location in the Food Quality Building.”

Ferdinand’s is open Monday through Friday, 9:30 to 4:30, but check for special hours (like holidays and game days), check the website:

Today was cloudy and we did not have a lot of time for an adventure. Perfect day for a visit to the WSU Museum of Art and the CUB (Compton Union Building).

The Museum of Art is located in the Fine Arts Building directly across from Martin Stadium. As you would expect, it is small, which means you can get a dose of art without having to set aside a lot of time. For my visit with my boys, it meant I could give them a little bit of the museum/gallery experience without wearing their patience too thin. (Even so, I was very glad I brought a stroller, because one of my wild things had to be restrained from touching the art.)

Gallery 1 View (Photography is prohibited, as I was told after I took this!)

The exhibitions change about every three months, and have seemed varied and impressive (though this is the first time I have made a visit). OK, this is not MOMA, but it is very enjoyable! It is also free!

Sculpture in Front of Museum

After the museum, we crossed the wide sidewalk and went to the CUB.

Walking to the CUB (CUB in the distance)

I intended to take the boys to Starbucks, which is located in the bookstore. However, the line was too long (as it notoriously is).

So we changed plans and went to the food court.

CUB Food Court

We ended up getting juice and zucchini bread at Carlita’s, which had basically the same kind of stuff as Starbucks would have had. The zucchini bread was made by the WSU Dining Services, and was very good. Also, at $1.19, I would bet it cost a lot less than it would have at Starbucks.

The CUB food court also has a Villa, a Panda Express (with sushi) and a Subway. Standard food court fare. The seating area is nice and light and was not too crowded (though we were there before the lunch rush).

Getting there was really easy. The place to park is at Smith Center, which has a sign on Stadium Way. You have to pay, but it was only around $3 for our visit. I think there might be validation available if you spend over a certain amount, and I think there is a promotion now where you can park for free after 5 pm. You take the elevator up the sidewalk level. Both the CUB and the Museum also have handicap buttons on the doors, so it is not a struggle to get through with a stroller. I did not check on changing tables, but there are bathrooms readily available in both buildings.

All in all, I think our adventure took about an hour and a half and cost a grand total of around $6. Well worth it to beat cabin fever and do something a little different.

Uniontown Co-Op (grain, peas and lentils), serving the area since 1916

We finally stopped in Uniontown, after two years of driving through. It is a little gem of a town.

Sage Baking Company, Uniontown

This morning we had scones and galettes at the Sage Baking Company. (111 S. Montgomery, (509) 229-3716.) They were excellent.

Hungry Boys at the Pastry Counter

Breakfast Pastries

Interior, Sage Baking Company

No bad choices!

Interior, Sage Baking Company

The Sage Baking Company is located in the 110 year old Jacobs’ Building that was renovated by the Uniontown Community Development Association.

Sage Baking Company in the Jacobs' Building

The bakery produces craftsman breads, scones and pastries for area retailers and restaurants. The café in the bakery is open on Friday and Saturday from 7 to 3 with soups and sandwiches for lunch. It is family friendly – not too quiet, and it has plenty of choices kids will like. I did not check to see about high chairs and changing tables (we are finally done with those!!) It is also inexpensive (four pastries and one coffee came to $11.)

T, enjoying his breakfast

Sweets

Outdoor eating area, Sage Baking Company

Uniontown itself is a charming place. It was founded in 1860 and has served as a commercial, manufacturing, transportation, social and farming center. According to the Uniontown website (http://www.uniontown.us/about.html) there are 499 residents within the immediate Uniontown area.

Uniontown's combination Fire Station, Town Hall and Library

Eleanor's, which is supposed to have good burgers

There are a number of antique shops there.

Uniontown is home to St. Boniface Catholic Church, which was built beginning in 1888. It was the first consecrated Catholic Church in the state of Washington.

St. Boniface Catholic Church (center)

The building on the right in the above photo is now the Churchyard Inn, a B&B. It was originally constructed in 1905 as a parish house, and in 1913 was converted to a convent. After being vacant many years, it was renovated in 1995 and turned into the bed and breakfast inn. (http://www.churchyardinn.com/)

The Churchyard Inn

This town is so cute! I plan to make the Sage Baking Company a regular ritual, if I can remember to get there on Fridays and Saturdays.

Barn mural, Uniontown

Another major feature of Uniontown is the Dahmen Barn with its often photographed (wagon?) wheel fence.

Dahmen Barn with Wagon Wheel Fence

Wheel Fence

It is home to Artisans at the Dahmen Barn, an art space in a barn that was renovated in 2004-2006.

Flower wagon, Dahmen Barn

There was some beautiful art to see (though we saw it quickly, as I was nervous the boys would try to touch things, and in this sense it may not be for little kids – at least not my kids!). I was not permitted to take photos of the art (naturally) but it is definitely worth browsing, especially if you like Palouse/Washington-oriented art.

Entrance, Artisans at Dahmen Barn

From the website (http://www.artisanbarn.org/): “Attractions include a gift shop featuring art, fine crafts and products from the Palouse, artisans at work in their studio spaces who will share their creative process with visitors, a monthly art exhibition, and regularly scheduled classes and performance events.”

Dahmen Barn gift shop

The upstairs of the Barn has galleries and an open space where dances and concerts are held.

Second floor, Dahmen Barn

Upstairs windows, Dahmen Barn

Four big events are held at the barn each year: A demonstration day in April, a tea and fashion show in July, a Harvest Festival in September and a Holiday Gala with gifts galore in December. We were there October 1st and there was a pumpkin patch taking place on Saturdays. In addition to the big events, there are also a number of regularly scheduled concerts/dances and art-related activities. Check the website for more info.

The Dahmen Barn sign you see on highway 195: when going from Pullman toward Lewiston, it is on the right, about 10-15 minutes from Pullman